The Martial Unity

Rui stared at his father with a knowing expression.

He wasn’t surprised that he and other people managed to pick up on this possibility. For one, the precedence already existed, allowing people to imagine that he might have gained the ability to do for the Sage Realm what he could do for virtually every Realm before it. “Yes.” His answer came quickly, devoid of any hesitation.

In the distant past, he used to be afraid of letting people find out about his breakthrough ability. There was a time when he wasn’t powerful enough to protect himself from the consequences of this revolutionary ability. Now, however, he didn’t feel even the slightest bit of fear at disclosing the most revolutionary iteration of this power. He couldn’t help but reflect on how revolutionary he had grown in the past few decades. He had gained a degree of power that was so high that he could get away with virtually any secret. Even disclosing the fact that he could break Martial Masters through to the Sage Realm was something that he was willing to advertise freely. Emperor Rael gazed at him with a stunned expression. “You… you really can break Martial Masters through to the Sage Realm?”

“Yes,” Rui replied. “But there are caveats. For instance, it takes too much time for me to break Masters through to the Sage Realm. Taking my own case, for example, I came up with the basis for this new method shortly after my battle with Ieyasu and began using this method continuously since then.”

The Emperor of Harmony stirred at his son’s words as he regained his composure. “Of course, it would be beyond absurd if the breakthrough to the Sage Realm could be triggered as easily as that of the Realms before it. Still, this is revolutionary nonetheless.”

“Well, I will have you know that I don’t really have the time to break Masters through to the Sage Realm,” Rui remarked. “The price of the Sage Realm and Master Realm is not cheap. And it takes too much time and effort for me to break a single Master through to the Sage Realm. The Solution of Harmony will be commencing in ten days, no matter what, so I don’t wish to waste any time and energy on this particular matter.”

Emperor Rael nodded thoughtfully. “I concur. If it’s truly time-consuming and energy-intensive, then it’s not worth it to have you consumed up in this affair. Your combat prowess is not worth the compromise.”

Rui’s utility in combat would far exceed his utility in breaking Masters through to the Sage Realm if it took a long time to break a single Martial Master through to the Sage Realm.

It was not worth it based on any evaluation metric.

“Good, because I’m not going through such a lengthy and laborious process for others,” Rui grumbled. “However, if you want, I can give you the theory and the system of thought that you can look into and try developing technological solutions surrounding the principles of the breakthroughs.”

Emperor Rael stirred at the thought. “…That might be worth it. However, I don’t think that any piece of technology is capable of replicating your power.”

Rui shook his head. “Don’t discount the power of esoteric technology. Also, don’t discount the endless potential of information technology. They are capable of miracles. Even if you are unable to replicate exactly what I do, it is still worth it to invest in this field to get partial success nonetheless.”

If there was a technological solution that could accelerate the growth of Martial Masters to the Sage Realm, then it was worth it to explore it. “That is a good point,” Emperor Rael noted. “A partial solution is still better than nothing.”

“You might also want to consider implementing some of the solutions of the Gen Temple,” Rui remarked. “The purification ritual increases the probability of breakthroughs to the Sage Realm by a whopping one hundred percent.”

Emperor Rael shook his head. “Do you think I haven’t considered this well-known solution? You must also know that it comes with its caveats. It reduces the breakthroughs of the Senior and Master Realm, effectively leading to only a twenty percent increase in the breakthrough rate to the Sage Realm. We cannot afford to allow the number of Martial Masters breaking through to reduce. Masters will be the prime protectors of human civilization once the Sages are gone.”

Rui nodded in agreement.

The caveat of the purification ritual was quite damning in the Era of Darkness. So much so that the Gen Temple would actually be very unsafe without the Sages due to the lowered number of Seniors and Masters. If not for Rui’s mass breakthroughs, they would be the least Sage-independent nation after the Sekigahara Confederate.

“Then why not exclusively apply to Masters who have already broken through?” Rui raised an eyebrow. “That way, the breakthrough rate to the Master Realm would not be compromised, and you can reap the benefits of the Purification Ritual of the Gen Temple.”

Emperor Rael fell into thought. “I have considered that possibility too, but unfortunately, there is a very big hurdle. The hurdle being that the Purification Ritual is harder to successfully get through the older one is. That is why the Gen Temple has its residents go through this Purification Ritual from a very young age.”

Rui considered the reasoning. “So that would mean that for Masters who are both biologically and chronologically old, getting them to successfully purify themselves will be almost impossible?”

Emperor Rael nodded. “Precisely. They are just too set in their ways and cannot change easily. Then there are Martial Masters who revel in their… ‘impurities,’ as the Abbot would call them. Masters like Zeamer are so drowned in their hedonism and degeneracy that pulling them out of it is almost impossible.”

Rui smirked at his father’s words as he tried imagining what Master Zeamer would be like if he wasn’t allowed to goon every single day.

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